Shloka 10
Book 10, Adhyāya 12: Aśvatthāmā’s Request for the Cakra and the Brahmaśiras Context
स तदाज्ञाय दुष्टात्मा पितुर्वचनमप्रियम् । निराश: सर्वकल्याणै: शोकात् पर्यचरन्महीम्
sa tadājñāya duṣṭātmā pitur vacanam apriyam | nirāśaḥ sarvakalyāṇaiḥ śokāt paryacaran mahīm ||
Ayant compris cet ordre déplaisant de son père, le fils de Droṇa, à l’âme mauvaise, renonça à toute espérance de bon augure et, accablé de chagrin, erra sur la terre.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical contrast: when confronted with rightful but unpleasant counsel, a corrupted disposition may respond not with repentance and self-restraint but with despair and agitation. It suggests that inner character determines whether admonition becomes a doorway to reform or a trigger for further moral collapse.
After hearing and understanding his father's unwelcome words, Droṇa’s son Aśvatthāman loses hope of any auspicious outcome. Stricken with grief, he roams about the land, indicating a troubled, unsettled state that foreshadows further actions in the Sauptika narrative.